DJ Casper Dies: ‘Cha Cha Slide’ Dance Hit Creator Was 58

DJ Casper, the creator of the dance hit and wedding reception staple “Cha Cha Slide,” died Monday following a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 58.

His death was reported by his wife Kim to Chicago’s ABC7.

Born and raised in Chicago as Willie Perry Jr., DJ Casper wrote the instructional line-dance song in 1998 for his nephew’s aerobic class. Originally titled “Casper Slide Pt. 1,” the song, in which Casper provided step-by-step dance instructions – “To the right now/To the left/Take it back now y’all/One hop this time” – grew in local popularity and within two year a new version called “Casper Slide Pt. 2” began turning up on the radio.

With the backing of Chicago’s M.O.B. Records, the song, retitled “Cha Cha Slide,” became an international dance hit. He once marveled to the Chicago ABC affiliate, “I have one of the biggest songs that played at all stadiums: hockey, basketball, football, baseball; they played it at the Olympics. It was something that everybody could do.”

Casper was diagnosed in 2016 with kidney and liver cancer.

“Casper was a fun-loving, giving person,” his wife Kim said in a statement. “He was a genuine, family oriented man. He loved Chicago with all his heart. He will be greatly missed.”

The dance song was featured in a 2019 Saturday Night Live sketch in which a software engineer (John Mulaney) surprises girlfriend (Ego Nwodim) with his “Cha Cha Slide” moves.